Always running out of time
by Theonewhostandsout
Summary: Ariel has grown up on land with Eric as her best friend. Yet something seems off with her, yet it seems to be expected as she nears the marrying age. But yet somethings just, how do you put it, a little fishy. Ariel seems to always run out of time
1. Sixteen years

**This takes place in time period the disney movie was set in **

**APOV**

I awoke with a scream, a loud, earsplitting shriek. _This truly wasn't a good way to start off the morning._ Yet this was in fact the fifth morning in a row this had happened.

Still someone just had to bust into my room again. This time it was Prince Eric a.k.a. my best friend, who I had been staying with for the week. Poor him...

"Just another nightmare." I told him and he sighed plopping himself on the bed.

"Maybe tonight I'll just have to bring max in here to stay with you and maybe myself for that matter." Eric told me glancing up at me and chuckling.

"Let me guess my hair is somehow has achieved a new level of tangles?"

"Well lets just say you my dear have looked better." He said.

I sighed getting up and shooing him out which only made him grin and lay even more peacefully on the bed.

"Eric would you prefer to leave and see me again in five minutes when I'm decent, or would you like to be scarred for life seeing me Ariel spades, the ugly adoptee daughter of a knight in the nude." I said emphasizing the fact that no one knew who my parents were.

"Firstly you Ariel are probably the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and secondly what does it matter if your real parents just left you on the castle door step; for all you know you, yourself could be royalty from a distant land." Eric said rolling over to give me a clearly pointed look.

"I thought your latest suitor was the beautiful one?" I asked questioningly.

"Ariel I thought you knew already your the only girl for me." He whispered crawling off the bed to hold me in his strong arms.

I laughed loudly, "Oh really? Well you know what the same goes for me your the only guy for me."

"Why don't we just go elope already..." Eric joked releasing me.

"Grimsby would have me hung for that." I said laughing and pondering the thought.

"And he'd have you you hung for staring at me as I dress." I hinted and this time he left. I sighed in relief as the door slammed shut.

I sighed and attempted to tighten my own corset the effort was futile.

I hated that there were no servants about but yet desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Eric! I need your help!" I shouted through the closed door.

"Of course, you see you lock me out and then you need me." Eric said in that sarcastic voice of his, entering the room.

He eyed my attire and sighed knowing that Grimsby had all the maidservants assembled for the task of decorating the ballroom for an upcoming ball.

"Turn around so I can attempt to do this." He whispered caressing my back before grabbing the strings of the corset and pulling them in.

"Is that too tight?" He asked me and I nodded.

"Just a bit." I told him and he slightly loosened the corset the tiniest bit and I nodded.

"Thank you so much." I told him.

"Let me guess shoo?" He summed up.

I just shrugged not caring since I was almost dressed.

"Okay then." he said sitting down in a nearby chair as I pulled out deep blue dress,that didn't puff out like most dresses, with a black ribbon tied at the waist line and pulled it on.

"You look stunning." he said smiling at me.

"Thanks." I said and he took my arm and led me into the corridor.

"Eric! God, I've been looking for you for ages you have a suitor awaiting!" Grimsby shouted forcing us to un-lock our intertwined arms and go our separate ways.

So then it was just me and Grimsby. "What are you going to do now?" He asked me questioningly.

"To the sea, maybe on a stroll through town, or maybe just some reading." I told him lightly shrugging.

"Your sad to see him see other suitors aren't you? D-do you love him?" Grimsby asked me.

I shrugged, "Why would it matter, I'm an orphan. Orphans adopted by nobles or not, is not of noble blood." I recited as my adoptive father sir George had always said when mother suggested Eric and I as a couple.

Though father said he'd be unbelievably proud if I did marrying into the royal family, but with the unknown traits of my heritage it was unlikely.

I sighed as Grimsby simply frowned at my answer. I decided that instead of being questioned I would go on that walk.

"Do you require a carriage?" Grimsby asked me as I neared the front door.

"No, I am going to walk. But thank you Grims." I said walking out the door and into the outside world of our kingdom.

I peered out into the ocean and smiled widely, that was where I belonged.

The ocean seemed to call to me and the next thing I knew I was barefoot in the ankle deep water.

"How in the world did that happen." I pondered letting out a half afraid laugh.

I gave up on trying to figure out how I ended up in the water, and got out and put on my shoes. And started down the cobblestone street.

"Hey you there, mermaid!" I glanced around me, I was the only one near. And I glanced down to see a man sitting on the side of the street playing with a knife.

"Yes I mean you little red head." the man said and patted a seat next to him. I nervously took the seat next to him, and he smiled.

"Your almost sixteen." He said and I raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

"Your are an orphan." And yet again I nodded.

"You are attracted deeply to the sea and sometimes without even thinking you end up in it." He said and I nodded afraid.

"Who are you?" I asked him and he glanced up at me and his deep green eyes met my blue eyes for the first time.

"I am one of the aware. Yet most people, they just call me Gibbs" He answered simply.

"How do you know all of this?"

"Your one of the forgotten, one we only hear of in old sailors stories, your species seems to be hidden from the world yet out in the open." He whispered to me.

"What am I then?"

"A mermaid, obviously of high birth since you can walk on land. Yet that only lasts so long, 16 years to be exact, on the eve your sixteenth birthday you shall return to others of your kind."

"How can you tell?"

"I can smell it from a mile away hun, trust me your one. Not say you don't smell nice it's just your kind tends to practically reek of the sea." He said smiling at me in a joking manner.

The two of us spoke until he announced he must get to work.

"It was nice meeting you child of the sea." He said solemnly waving goodbye to me.

* * *

**Later at the castle**

"Hello Grimsby." I greeted him as I passed walking inside and he grabbed my arm.

"There are still some suitors," (insert sigh), "horrible women the lot of them but of high birth all the same." Grimsby whispered to me sighing constantly.

"Shall I stay here and eavesdrop with you?" I asked and he simply explained how these women seemed to be the jealous type so that would be the best answer.

We sat on the bench discussing the upcoming ball, clearly avoiding the fact that it marked me coming of the marrying age.

Soon enough the woman in there currently walked out smiling and went to sit with the others who had already spoken to him.

Eric peeked his head out and looked at us.

"Ariel! You, I believe should be next instead of the duchess." Eric said waving me in and out of the corner of my eye I saw the rather plump duchess glare at me as I walked in.

"Hello prince Eric." I said smiling.

"Stop with the formalities! You've known me since before you could speak." Eric said shaking his head.

"Eric there's something I need to tell you."

"Let me guess, the women in here are horrid." He guessed.

"That too, but today as I walked through town there was this man. Let me state he was much older than us, not attractive, and married. We began to speak and well he guessed some stuff about me, and well how do I put this I might have an idea who I am..." I whispered.

"We already know who you are. You are Ariel spades, your father is sir George of spades, and your mother is lady Marie of spades." Eric said reaching out and taking my hand and stroking it.

"I mean where I'm from, where my birth parents were from." I told him almost letting tears embrace my face.

"Where Ariel?"

"Guess. It's a place where I always seem to be found, a place I go without even realizing it, the place that I could never live without." I told him.

"The sea?" He whispered instantly but questioningly.

"Have you ever heard the tales of the mer-people?"

"A few..." He said raising an eyebrow.

"Well think long and hard on this and it'll make sense." I whispered and he nodded.

We sat in silence for what seemed like ages until he spoke up. "Your right." He whispered looking like a man who lost the love of his life.

"One tale said they could walk on land until their sixteenth year." He whispered.

He got up from his chair and sat down in the chair next to me and pulled me into his arms as I began to sob.

"We'll get through this, you know we will." He whispered and we fell silent except for all my crying which I'm pretty sure he joined in at some point too.

"Eric the next suitor is waiting." Grimsby said walking into the room.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw us and said that he'd postpone the rest of the meetings with the suitors until after dinner.

"No more suitors Grims. Trust me on this. I'll tell you later what I mean by that but just do it." Eric whispered pulling me closer.

"Whatever you wish prince Eric." Grimsby murmured before leaving us.

"I don't know what I would do without you." He whispered kissing my forehead softly.

"I don't care! I wish to have a fair chance to speak with the prince like the others before me!" I heard a girl outside belt out. Eric and I stood up.

Eric walked up to the door and easily opened it to politely tell the girl that he had talked to many suitors today and that he only wished to rest for the night and maybe continue at some other time.

He beckoned me forward and we walked outside the room to see Grimsby and the other servants leading the suitors out.

I laughed at this and a few glanced up and glared at me.

"Lets go grab some dinner and maybe go on a walk." Eric suggested and I nodded as we walked off to he kitchen together.

Dinner had been chicken Alfredo with garlic bread. And well the sea was warm.

"I love this water!" I shouted diving down into a deeper section.

"Wait a second before you go off randomly looking for ocean things and some magical kingdom!" Eric shouted as I swam in place.

It was utterly hilarious to see his royal highness get his prim and proper/ utterly not him look soaked with each forward step which after a second led him to start swimming towards me; throwing off his coat as he went.

"So where do you think we'd find a place like Gibbs had said? A place hidden from the world yet out in the open." I asked as he started to follow me up to a large rock which we promptly climbed up and sat.

"Well it would be somewhere obvious that most people wouldn't think of when they thought of the mer-court." Eric answered staring out to sea.

"Above water?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Allow me to re-phrase somewhere underwater that you wouldn't think." Eric said laughing.l

"Either the shallows or the oceanic zone. No! those would always come to mind first when you think of that! It would be in some form of mid-zone!" I said louder than I had expected.

"We'll set sail at dawn." Eric announced smiling as we settled in on the rock to watch the stars like we had all throughout our lives.

We were going to fix this; no matter what it took we where going to save me from myself...

**I will edit this at a later point! And chapter 2 will be up soon!**


	2. Bloody sailors

**APOV**

I awoke silently not even a silent shriek escaped my lips for the first time in days. And I heard a round of applause and looked around; Eric was camped out at the foot of the bed with Max.

"Looks like my idea worked!" Eric said smiling triumphantly and sat up.

"It seems so." I said letting out a laugh.

"Well we better start packing our ship sets sail at high noon." Eric announced jumping up from the bed.

After a few minutes of staring into space he pulled me out of bed and held me bridal style.

"Have I ever told you your beautiful?"

"A couple times..." I replied as he did some form of cheesy staring into my soul stuff.

"Ummmm... What are you doing?" I asked politely after a few minutes.

"I have absolutely no clue." Eric said putting me down on my feet.

"Oh! And here my lovely lady are pants for a high seas journey." Eric said setting me down in order to hand over a small pair of trousers to me.

"Thanks." I told him forcing him in all his prince-ness outside, along with the dog so I can change.

I pull on the pants and easily find a blouse in the closet to put on.

"Is it safe?" Eric asks me.

"Yes!" I shout back and he strolls in surveying me.

"Nice." He tells me snorting.

I just shook my head, I wasn't even going to bother with him.

"How long do we have until we set sail?" I asked him as he threw himself upon my bed.

"Two or so hours, the dock is only a ten minute walk so we have some time to relax." He told me patting a place next to him.

I shook my head, "We should get our things ready before we set sail."

"Your right. But you see I have this beautiful woman on my mind right now. I can't quite seem to shake her." He says snuggling down into the comforter.

"Do I know her?" I asked biting my lip praying that he would say that it was that duchess that seemed to want to attack me yesterday a.k.a he's kidding.

"Very well, she has this red hair, its so red you could spot her from a mile off, and her eyes, they sparkle like the sea, and her voice sounds like beautiful little bells." He says looking at me.

"And you want to know the best thing about her?" He asked getting up to look at me in the eyes.

"She's my best friend and oh yeah she won't put up with all my royal shit." He adds grinning.

I snorted, "As I said yesterday Grimsby would personally hang me."

"Oh don't worry Ariel, I'll protect you from the big bad seventy year old." Eric said wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close.

"What if that man was right though, what if I am from the place where I could never come back from? What if I am from the sea?" I asked him as his lips near mine.

"All the more reason to let this happen." He whispered, pain flashing through his eyes.

"I don't want to lose you. And I want this, but I don't know what's going to happen. If I am what he thought I was, this would just make the inevitable that much harder." I whispered nuzzling my head into his chest.

"I can't lose you, let me rephrase that. I won't lose you Ariel."

"But-" I started to insist but he cut me off.

"Don't." He whispered rubbing my back.

"We need to think of the possibility that we might not have forever, that we may have a day or two, a week tops." I told him as a tear penetrated my cheek.

He rocked us gently, "We can have as long as we want to have. Even if you are what he thought you were." He whispered kissing the top of my head.

"How would it work?" I asked him.

"Love knows no bounds. We would find a way." He told me and I giggled.

"Like me living in the bathtub?" I asked letting out laugh.

"Well that'll certainly make bathing fun." He told me nudging my side suggestively.

"Eric!" We heard Grimsby shout entering the room.

"What is this I heard about you setting sail today? You have suitors to meet!" Grimsby fumed and I looked up just as his eyes landed upon us.

"Tell the suitors I have made plans I can't break, with a lovely creature that goes by the name of Ariel." He told Grimsby grinning at me.

"Eric or kingdom needs a queen." He sighed shaking his head.

"Hey Ariel you up for the job?" He joked and I snorted.

"Oh yes our beautiful hardworking country would so love an orphan queen." Grimsby replied laughing.

"Hey! I'm an adoptee!" I defended sending him a glare.

"Are you suggesting you know your lineage well enough to know you could provide a suitable air to our throne?" Grimsby asked raising an eyebrow.

"I am just saying that you can't just assume I'll marry below my class because I'm an orphan." I retorted.

"I didn't mean that I-I just meant it isn't a good match. Eric your messing with her head. Yesterday she knew her place and you know yours. You need to find your places and stay there." He stuttered out.

"Well I guess I should just jump off that nice little cliff about a mile out. I mean that is where they keep finding those orphans. Right? Oh wait! I mean I should find a nice noose that's the way the most recent route the others have gone. Right?" I asked bitterly releasing myself from Eric's grasp and storming out the room.

I flew down the stairs as tears fell down my face. This was bad, it was really bad. I was damned! I was an orphan! How many horrible qualities about myself should I list.

"Ariel! Don't! Please don't!" Eric yelled as I ran even faster across the castle.

"Trip her please!" I heard Grimsby yell to a suitor in front of me.

They complied as I tripped and fell to the floor.

"GOD DAMMIT! God damn it all!" I shouted into the tiled floor.

"Ariel! Are you alright?" Eric asked me frantically as he lifted me up to face him.

"What do you think? I'm making a fool out of myself and I'm losing the only person that cares about me." I sobbed and he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.

I heard Max bark and I looked up just in time to see him jump in my lap and start licking my face.

"See Max cares about you too." Eric told me as Max stopped licking my face.

I giggled, "I love you to Max."

"Ahem." Eric said giving me a look.

"I love you too Eric." I replied giggling even more.

"Good should I kiss you too? Oh I mean lick, sorry Max."

I snorted, "That's very nice Eric. I'm sure Grimsby would be proud."

"Oh of course he would. He so would be proud of the orphan and the prince admitting some form of undying love to each other." The girl who tripped me said snorting.

"Exactly!" I told her grinning.

"I'm Ariel." I told her standing up to shake her hand.

"I'm Octavia." She told me shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you." I told her and she nodded.

"So what country are you from?" Eric asked sighing.

"Erm... This one? My mother is the new cook." She told us raising an eyebrow.

"Oh that's good! Well I guess I'll see you around then!" I told her happily and she nodded.

"See you around your majesty, future Mrs. majesty." She told me giving a mock bow.

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." I told her before we left.

"We've got a half hour before we set sail and we're already packed according to Grims." Eric told me as we exited the palace.

"Okay." I whispered.

"Come on Ariel its all going to work out you'll see." He whispered as we walked towards the harbor.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

"Positive, if anyone can help us now its those bloody sailors." He told me laughing.

"Great so my future lies in the hands of bloody sailors." I muttered.

"Seems so." Eric agreed.

"Bloody sailors here we come!" I rejoiced sarcastically as we continued on.


End file.
